The present invention relates to protective equipment and, more particularly, to a protective liner which can be incorporated in a variety of designs of outdoor headgear.
In the past, a wide variety of protective headgear has been devised for use by participants in a number of sports, such as football, hockey, and baseball, and for use as crash helmets that protect a wearer's head in the event of a collision. Such headgear has ranged from simple cloth or leather headcoverings with minimal padding to hard outer shells supported upon a network of straps. More recently, as developing technology has made possible the more accurate measurement of forces transmitted through protective headgear and has made available modern materials and techniques, significant improvements have been made with respect to the energy-absorbing characteristics of such headgear.
Consistent with the current state of the art, one of the preferred designs of protective headgear features a relatively hard outer helmet shell in conjunction with a flexible fluid-filled inner liner to support the helmet and dissipate forces applied thereto. However, as illustrated in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,763, this current headgear design features an impact-absorbing chin cup strapped over the wearer's chin and a hard outer shell extending to the wearer's neck and over the wearer's ears. Although those features are desirable for use in rugged contact sports, the sacrifice in wearer comfort and convenience, impairment of head motion and hearing, and unfashionable appearance make such helmets unsuitable for general outdoor use or sports having minimal risk of head injury. In addition, such headgear does not protect the wearer from loss of body heat as would be desirable for outdoor winter use in colder climates.
To applicant's knowledge, there has been no protective liner devised for use with conventional outdoor headgear. Such fashionable winter items as skiing berets or beanies and parka or snowsuit hoods have been designed primarily to meet fashion and warmth criteria rather than to protect the wearer from head injury despite the risk of an impact to the wearer's head while walking over ice or while engaging in winter sports. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a liner for conventional outdoor headgear having substantial energy-absorbing capability without reducing appearance, comfort, and warmth of the headgear below acceptable levels.